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- This week on the RV podcast,

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- Are you having trouble seeing the road

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while you're driving at night?

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Well, it could be that your
headlights need aligning.

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We'll learn about this in
the interview of the week.

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- There's a lot of controversy
about excessive frame flex

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and fifth wheels these days.

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We'll answer those concerns

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and our questions of the week segment,

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- How to save money

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with all those road toll
free fees across the

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country that you have to pay.

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Our RV Lifestyle community
shares some tips.

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- All this and much more
coming up in episode 4 92

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of the RV Podcast.

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- Hello everybody, I'm Mike Winland,

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and this is my lifelong
traveling companion.

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And my bride Jennifer,
who's under the weather,

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and she's got me semi
under the weather <laugh>.

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We've been passing a cough and
a runny nose and a virus back

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and forth for how long now? Oh,

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- Over a couple weeks. Yeah,

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- <laugh>.

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So we're both on the same medicine.

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And, uh, we'll see if
that, uh, clears us up.

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Wanna remind you that you
can watch the video version

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of this podcast, of course,

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on our RV lifestyle YouTube channel.

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And, uh, the audio version
is available through all

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of the favorite podcast apps out there.

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Or you can listen, uh,

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on the RV lifestyle.com web blog as well.

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Uh, we hope that you are
enjoying the RV podcast

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and that you find value in the content

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that we're producing every week.

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Uh, we strive to create episodes
that inform and entertain

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and inspire our community of
RV enthusiasts like yourself.

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If you've been enjoying our podcast

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and if you find it helpful,
would you do us a favor

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and take a moment and leave us a review.

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Your feedback is incredibly
valuable to Jen and me

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and it helps others discover our show.

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And if you feel we deserve
a five star rating,

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we'd be grateful for your support.

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Your positive review not only motivates us

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to keep improving, but it also
assists fellow RV enthusiasts

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for finding quality content.

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Thank you guys so much for being a part

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of our podcast community and
we appreciate your support.

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- Well, what did you think of the eclipse?

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A lot of our views sure. Watched it.

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- Well, we did. Uh,

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and, um, blah <laugh>, we are
in, uh, Southwest Michigan.

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And, uh, I thought I read
that we were supposed

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to have a 90%, uh, blockage of the sun,

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but all it did is get a little bit dimmer.

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- It felt like you had sunglasses on.

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- Yeah, it felt, yeah,

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when you put sunglasses on in a bright

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day, that's kind of what it felt like.

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We have, uh, some Canada geese

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and a couple different species
of ducks that are nesting in,

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uh, uh, our backyard, uh, and
a lake we have back there.

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And, um, we, uh, have had
some fun watching them,

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but didn't do anything.

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We heard wildlife was
going to be disrupted

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and that just didn't happen.

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So, uh, whatever, uh, we had
fun, uh, with the eclipse,

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but it, uh, didn't seem
much here in Michigan there.

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I know a lot of you all
over the country watched it.

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Uh, we drove through that zone

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of totality along I 65 in India,

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Indiana, uh, over the weekend.

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And we saw a lot of RVs.

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- Oh man, campgrounds, harvest hosts

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and state parks were filled.

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Farmers were running out
their fields for parking.

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And all along in I 65 in
Indiana, roadside signs warning

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of big traffic jams

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after the event, urging
people to stay put, it's, uh,

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been estimated that, uh, one quarter

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of all eclipse tourists are our vs.

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And that excitement, you can

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just kind of feel it in the air.

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- Yeah, everybody, um, not

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so much here in this part
of southwest Michigan.

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Um, campgrounds within the path

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of totality in the
north, uh, opened early.

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They normally don't open
till about mid-April

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or the end of April.

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And they were all open.

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Uh, we tried to get some
reservations in Indiana

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for Saturday night, two days
before the, the eclipse,

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and they were all filled.

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Um, same with harvest
hosts in the area, uh,

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and across the country.

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Campgrounds, uh, were fully booked

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- Clubs in various groups held rallies.

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Airstream Club International
members, for example,

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held nine rallies along the path

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that then others were dry
camping in places like Harvest

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host Boondockers, welcome farmers fields,

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and church parking lots.

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All along the path, New York, Texas

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and other state parks
were sold out for weeks.

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And it was the talk in both
our RV lifestyle community

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and our RV lifestyle Facebook group.

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- Now, Jennifer and I just
got home from three months

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of traveling, so, uh, we decided

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to stick this one out on our
10 acre Michigan property.

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Uh, we watched it from
the back deck with Bo, um,

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but we were, I guess,
too far off the path.

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Uh, uh, it was kind of fun,

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but it was just partial
dimming of the sun.

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And, uh, we brought our
fifth wheel back to Michigan

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after keeping it on our Tennessee property

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for the past three months.

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- And we have a busy camping
season throughout the Great

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Lakes Region Plan for the
next couple of months.

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If you're curious about
our day-to-Day activities,

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we share regular updates

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and photos on our rapidly growing RV

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lifestyle community. And

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- You can find
that@community.rvlifestyle.com.

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Um, and this community is
completely separate from Facebook.

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It now has over 10,000 members,

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and if you haven't become a
part of it, uh, just again,

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go over to community dot rv lifestyle.com.

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It's warm, it's welcoming, very friendly.

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20 different special
interest spaces devoted

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to various aspects of the RV

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- Lifestyle.

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- Uh, programming note
will be on Amazon Live this

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- Week, and that'll be
Thursday night at 7:00 PM And

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we're kind of excited about this.

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Uh, we hope to get back to a regular

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schedule on Amazon Live.

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Um, the Thursday night, uh,
7:00 PM Eastern Time will,

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I'll be showing demoing 25

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must have camping products
for the new season.

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Those are a lot of fun.

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They're like our ask us
anything except I get to show

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and tell cool camping gear.

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And, uh, that is pretty,
uh, pretty much fun.

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Uh, that's one programming note.

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- And, uh,

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we start our six part series on class bvs

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- Saturday.

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This Saturday it starts.

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And we just drove and camped

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and tested out the leading
camper vans out there.

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- And, uh, it was great, great fun.

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We, uh, tested class bvs on
three different chassis in two

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wheel all wheel and four by four chassis.

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And the video reviews will
start on Saturday, April 13th

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and be released each day for
five days next week. And then,

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- Then on Saturday we're
gonna do a part six

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and we'll kind of go
over what we liked best

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and our overall impressions

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and, uh, is a Class B in our life again.

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Are we gonna have one of those coming up?

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Uh, you can find out all of that stuff.

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Um, best way to not miss
any of our videos is

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to just subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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It's youtube.com/rv lifestyle

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youtube.com.com/rv lifestyle.

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Alright, when we come back,
we've got the social media buzz

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with, uh, Wendy Boyer and lots, lots more.

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So stay with us.

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- The one thing that can
ruin a perfect RV trip is

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a bad mattress.

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And believe us, we know over
the years we've tried many

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and we have found them
all wanting until now.

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- Now we sleep on the RV
mattress by Brooklyn Bedding.

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Quite simply, it's the
best we've ever slept on.

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- We chose a queen size aurora
luxe medium firm mattress

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that arrived tightly rolled in a box.

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All we did was put it
on the bed, unroll it,

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and wait for it to recover
from the compression.

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Then we put on the
sheets and the bed covers

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and found we slept so well

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that we ordered another one for our home.

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- That's how comfortable it is.

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Our sleep is now so luxurious

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and deep that we can't
imagine using a different

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- Mattress.

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Shipping is free. If you're disappointed

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with the current mattress
in your rv, you owe it

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to yourselves to try the RV
mattress by Brooklyn Bedding.

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- Brooklyn Bedding sends out all

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of their RV mattresses from
their own factory in Arizona.

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This means they're able

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to use premium materials at
a reasonable price for you.

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With no middleman bringing up the

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- Cost.

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Don't miss out on the
best sleep of your life.

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Visit rv mattress.com/rv lifestyle.

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00:09:01,595 --> 00:09:04,405
- Welcome back. And now it's
time for the social media buzz

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00:09:04,405 --> 00:09:05,485
with Wendy Boyer.

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Wendy reports on the hot issues
most talked about this past

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week on social media and our
RV Lifestyle Community Group.

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- Here's Wendy.
- Hi, everybody.

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Over in our RV lifestyle
community in the campground space.

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We recently had a question from Audra.

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She asked, who knows about toll roads?

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If I end up on a toll road,
will they bill me later

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or do I need to get a pass ahead of time?

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So it turns out Audra's from Arizona

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where there aren't any toll roads.

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And she's planning a trip in her RV

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where she's gonna encounter some.

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So she's trying to get prepared

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and she got some great information.

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Randall told her toll
roads will bill her later.

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They read your license
plate and send you a bill,

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but the smart thing to do
is get a pass ahead of time.

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And he suggested open roads.

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He said, the pass can save you
like 30% on toll roads costs.

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And he gave an example from
his state in North Carolina

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where to drive this one segment
of the road without a pass.

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The cost was a dollar 13 per segment,

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but then it drops down
to 45 cents per segment

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with this toll road pass.

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So, good, good tip there.

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And Bud and Sue, they're
also from Arizona.

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And they said, you know,
we weren't prepared

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for these toll roads on
a recent trip we took.

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So we just drove through and
they got a bill six months

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after they drove the road.

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So nobody wants a bill
that late after a trip.

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So again, good information on that thread.

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Also, in our RV lifestyle
community, in the mods

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and DYI tweak space, Randy
wrote today's project was

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to make a laminated cutting
board insert for our new,

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our new sink in our Outlook 31 C.

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And then Randy showed a picture

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of this cutting board he made,

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and it was so sharp, it had stripes in it,

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different color wood just
fit snugly in that sink.

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Gave he and his wife
some more counter space,

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had a little hole to
make it easy to lift it.

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Um, lots of people admired his work

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and thought he did a great job.

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So thanks for sharing that, Randy.

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And then I have to tell
you a story about something

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that was shared in our RV
lifestyle Facebook group.

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This post was from Becky that
I'm gonna tell you about.

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And it was last I checked,

249
00:11:14,865 --> 00:11:19,645
viewed 5,060,675 times

250
00:11:19,785 --> 00:11:22,845
by different people and we're
talking thousands of comments

251
00:11:23,025 --> 00:11:24,525
and tens of thousands of likes.

252
00:11:24,545 --> 00:11:26,645
So what did Becky write about?

253
00:11:26,835 --> 00:11:28,605
Well, she started out saying

254
00:11:28,605 --> 00:11:31,365
that she had been reading some
posts on the Facebook group

255
00:11:31,375 --> 00:11:34,565
about people kind of complaining
about people's kids cutting

256
00:11:34,565 --> 00:11:38,965
through their, um, spot or a
dog that won't stop barking

257
00:11:39,185 --> 00:11:41,645
or maybe a person's heaters going off.

258
00:11:42,265 --> 00:11:45,925
And she just felt led to
write a different type of post

259
00:11:46,275 --> 00:11:48,645
that was about giving people grace.

260
00:11:49,265 --> 00:11:51,965
Um, the first story she told
about was when she was camping

261
00:11:51,965 --> 00:11:55,525
near a hospital and somebody
pulled in, it's pouring

262
00:11:55,525 --> 00:11:56,885
around, just miserable.

263
00:11:57,305 --> 00:12:00,485
And he parked in her spot,
maybe six feet over the line,

264
00:12:00,485 --> 00:12:01,765
really close to her picnic table.

265
00:12:02,545 --> 00:12:04,965
And it, he hooked up and
then she was talking to him

266
00:12:04,965 --> 00:12:07,485
and she took her dog out
and he's apologizing, says,

267
00:12:07,485 --> 00:12:09,125
I'll move it as soon as the rain stops.

268
00:12:09,125 --> 00:12:12,005
And she told him, you
know, don't worry about it.

269
00:12:12,205 --> 00:12:13,605
'cause he was only there two nights

270
00:12:13,665 --> 00:12:15,605
to visit a sick aunt in a hospital.

271
00:12:15,665 --> 00:12:17,085
And so she just said, don't worry about

272
00:12:17,085 --> 00:12:18,125
it, you're only here two nights.

273
00:12:18,465 --> 00:12:20,645
She was there 30 nights to visit her dad

274
00:12:20,745 --> 00:12:22,125
and who was getting nursing care.

275
00:12:22,585 --> 00:12:24,645
And they became great friends sharing over

276
00:12:24,645 --> 00:12:26,045
this combined difficult time.

277
00:12:26,825 --> 00:12:29,565
And then the other story
she told about Hap was this

278
00:12:29,565 --> 00:12:31,205
something that happened to her, um,

279
00:12:31,505 --> 00:12:33,325
at another campground
just a few months ago.

280
00:12:33,745 --> 00:12:36,165
She said, she's there
and this couple pull in

281
00:12:36,385 --> 00:12:39,565
and the man gets out his
motorcycle and revs it up.

282
00:12:39,585 --> 00:12:40,765
He is making all this noise,

283
00:12:40,765 --> 00:12:42,405
revving it up for probably an hour.

284
00:12:43,185 --> 00:12:44,525
And then finally he stops

285
00:12:44,545 --> 00:12:46,845
and later they start, they
meet and they start talking.

286
00:12:47,105 --> 00:12:50,925
And it turns out this is
their last camping trip.

287
00:12:50,955 --> 00:12:53,525
This couples, the man
has stage four cancer.

288
00:12:53,635 --> 00:12:56,045
They're there to say,
literally say goodbye

289
00:12:56,045 --> 00:12:57,405
to his kids and grandkids.

290
00:12:57,985 --> 00:13:00,525
Um, who knows if that was
his last motorcycle ride?

291
00:13:00,545 --> 00:13:03,125
You know, she said she was
tearing up just typing this.

292
00:13:03,385 --> 00:13:06,685
And, um, so she just
kind of gave the point.

293
00:13:06,705 --> 00:13:08,565
She said she was so happy
she didn't go out there

294
00:13:08,565 --> 00:13:09,725
and start yelling at 'em.

295
00:13:09,885 --> 00:13:12,805
I, you know, it sounds like
they were really nice people

296
00:13:12,875 --> 00:13:14,085
just maybe shouldn't have been

297
00:13:14,085 --> 00:13:15,165
so loud with their motorcycle.

298
00:13:15,585 --> 00:13:17,365
And her point was, you
know, let's just kind

299
00:13:17,365 --> 00:13:18,405
of give each other some grace.

300
00:13:18,465 --> 00:13:20,085
You never know what the
next guy's going through.

301
00:13:20,085 --> 00:13:21,125
And she's like, we got our health.

302
00:13:21,125 --> 00:13:24,525
We have enough money to
camp. And that was her post.

303
00:13:24,785 --> 00:13:29,245
And again, thousands,
millions of people shared it

304
00:13:29,245 --> 00:13:30,645
and read it and saw it,

305
00:13:30,645 --> 00:13:32,685
and thousands upon thousands of responses.

306
00:13:32,865 --> 00:13:35,365
And, um, lots of people
really appreciated it.

307
00:13:35,905 --> 00:13:38,725
And my favorite comments
were several that said,

308
00:13:38,745 --> 00:13:40,245
the world needs more Becky's.

309
00:13:40,465 --> 00:13:42,445
And I think I have to agree with that.

310
00:13:43,345 --> 00:13:45,005
Um, so that's it for me this week.

311
00:13:45,065 --> 00:13:47,925
I'm Wendy Bower and I'll see
you over in our RV lifestyle

312
00:13:47,925 --> 00:13:49,485
community or Facebook group.

313
00:13:50,535 --> 00:13:52,325
- Don't you love it when people are handy

314
00:13:52,505 --> 00:13:54,165
and they can are handy with tools

315
00:13:54,165 --> 00:13:56,525
and they can make that cutting
board to fit over the sink

316
00:13:56,585 --> 00:13:59,685
and a couple little holes to
pick it up and move it around.

317
00:14:00,365 --> 00:14:03,885
I know I appreciate it when
an RV comes already with

318
00:14:03,885 --> 00:14:05,845
that board, but if you don't have one,

319
00:14:06,645 --> 00:14:08,205
I bet you can get one made. Yeah.

320
00:14:08,315 --> 00:14:10,445
- Well it's interesting
to watch everybody share

321
00:14:10,545 --> 00:14:11,725
all the tweaks they do.

322
00:14:11,745 --> 00:14:14,285
And of course, uh, the
RV lifestyle community

323
00:14:14,345 --> 00:14:16,085
and our RV lifestyle Facebook group

324
00:14:16,225 --> 00:14:18,365
as Wendy reports every
weekend, a podcast, uh,

325
00:14:18,425 --> 00:14:20,285
that's the place to go for that kind

326
00:14:20,285 --> 00:14:21,605
of help and information.

327
00:14:22,155 --> 00:14:26,565
Alright, have you noticed
it's a little more challenging

328
00:14:26,665 --> 00:14:28,045
to drive at night?

329
00:14:28,155 --> 00:14:29,405
It's a little blurrier.

330
00:14:29,405 --> 00:14:31,165
Things aren't as clear as they used to be.

331
00:14:31,635 --> 00:14:33,205
Some of that has to do with age,

332
00:14:33,825 --> 00:14:36,325
but a lot of it has to do with, uh,

333
00:14:36,465 --> 00:14:38,725
poorly aligned headlights

334
00:14:39,305 --> 00:14:41,805
on your tow vehicle or your motor home.

335
00:14:42,315 --> 00:14:45,405
When we come back, we're
gonna talk about what you need

336
00:14:45,405 --> 00:14:47,605
to know about headlights for your RV

337
00:14:47,905 --> 00:14:50,725
or tow vehicle. Jennifer and I bought

338
00:14:50,725 --> 00:14:53,125
- Some land near Nashville,
Tennessee a while back.

339
00:14:53,625 --> 00:14:56,525
We got tired of crowded
expensive campgrounds

340
00:14:56,705 --> 00:14:58,765
and worrying about reservations.

341
00:14:59,725 --> 00:15:02,245
Tennessee is a gorgeous
state with friendly people,

342
00:15:02,665 --> 00:15:06,245
and it has been such a pleasure
coming up on April 13th,

343
00:15:06,385 --> 00:15:10,285
the same developer has some
new property near us, close

344
00:15:10,345 --> 00:15:14,325
to the Natchez Trace and Buffalo
River called the Reserve.

345
00:15:14,545 --> 00:15:18,485
At High Forest, big
properties, five to 41 acres.

346
00:15:18,665 --> 00:15:21,205
You can build a house, a cabin or rv.

347
00:15:21,205 --> 00:15:24,525
Year round prices start at only $89,900.

348
00:15:25,195 --> 00:15:29,045
Your property, your way 100% ownership.

349
00:15:29,705 --> 00:15:32,605
The scenery in this part of
Tennessee is breathtaking

350
00:15:33,105 --> 00:15:34,725
and the property is gorgeous.

351
00:15:35,185 --> 00:15:39,085
Garden landscape, bring your
pets, build what you want.

352
00:15:39,435 --> 00:15:41,765
There's high speed fiber optic internet,

353
00:15:41,825 --> 00:15:43,285
and it is so private

354
00:15:43,745 --> 00:15:44,925
and great place

355
00:15:44,985 --> 00:15:48,565
to make your home base
ready whenever you want it.

356
00:15:48,795 --> 00:15:51,725
They're selling these on
April 13th by appointment.

357
00:15:51,995 --> 00:15:55,965
Five to 41 acre properties from $89,900.

358
00:15:56,555 --> 00:15:58,485
There's even great financing.

359
00:15:58,815 --> 00:16:02,685
Check out the site and a
video tour@rvlands.net.

360
00:16:03,065 --> 00:16:05,325
That's rv lands.net.

361
00:16:06,195 --> 00:16:08,085
- Alright, welcome back time now

362
00:16:08,085 --> 00:16:11,165
for the RV interview of the week. Well,

363
00:16:11,265 --> 00:16:12,365
- All of us are getting older

364
00:16:12,865 --> 00:16:14,325
and as we age, one thing

365
00:16:14,325 --> 00:16:16,325
that often becomes more difficult is

366
00:16:16,325 --> 00:16:17,765
seeing the road at night.

367
00:16:18,315 --> 00:16:20,285
That is why making sure your motor home

368
00:16:20,385 --> 00:16:22,645
or your truck's headlights
are properly aligned

369
00:16:22,825 --> 00:16:24,725
is so important.

370
00:16:25,235 --> 00:16:26,925
Just ask us how we know <laugh>

371
00:16:27,185 --> 00:16:29,285
and making sure you are doing that.

372
00:16:29,505 --> 00:16:32,045
All you can do to see that road is key.

373
00:16:32,465 --> 00:16:35,805
And our guest is here to
help us figure it out.

374
00:16:36,265 --> 00:16:39,085
- He is Mike Sokol, and Mike
has been on the program before.

375
00:16:39,145 --> 00:16:43,005
He knows everything there is
to know about RV electricity.

376
00:16:43,625 --> 00:16:47,485
And, um, Mike has been
challenged by, uh, trying

377
00:16:47,485 --> 00:16:51,685
to figure out how you align,
uh, the headlights on an rv,

378
00:16:51,865 --> 00:16:54,365
uh, motor home or a, uh, tow vehicle.

379
00:16:54,985 --> 00:16:57,565
And he's, uh, an expert on
all this stuff along with,

380
00:16:57,665 --> 00:16:59,045
uh, LED lights.

381
00:16:59,145 --> 00:17:02,885
And he's gonna give us kind
of a 10,000 foot overview of

382
00:17:02,885 --> 00:17:05,605
what you need to do to
see better at night.

383
00:17:06,715 --> 00:17:09,365
Well, joining us right now is Mike Sole

384
00:17:09,365 --> 00:17:11,725
and welcome back to the podcast.
Mike, how have you been?

385
00:17:12,425 --> 00:17:15,245
- Uh, doing great. Spring has
sprung. This is good stuff.

386
00:17:15,905 --> 00:17:17,725
- Yes. Uh, it is. Best time of year.

387
00:17:17,795 --> 00:17:20,805
Well, anything other than snow right now.

388
00:17:21,105 --> 00:17:22,685
Uh, hey, I have a question for you.

389
00:17:22,705 --> 00:17:25,445
And it, it, it current sort
of, uh, similar questions

390
00:17:25,445 --> 00:17:28,325
that we've had over the
past few months from people,

391
00:17:28,425 --> 00:17:31,245
and that is that they're, um,

392
00:17:31,415 --> 00:17:35,165
headlights on their vehicles
don't seem to be aligned.

393
00:17:35,295 --> 00:17:37,365
Right? Or they're not bright enough

394
00:17:37,825 --> 00:17:40,045
and they're not sure what
they can do about it.

395
00:17:40,045 --> 00:17:42,205
Most of these are, are people
who are in motor homes,

396
00:17:42,255 --> 00:17:43,845
class C, class B motor homes,

397
00:17:44,345 --> 00:17:46,445
and I think one even was a, was a Class A.

398
00:17:47,185 --> 00:17:50,085
So we've never done any, uh,
program on headlights before.

399
00:17:50,225 --> 00:17:54,765
And I know in the Funks Worth,
uh, studio there <laugh>

400
00:17:54,775 --> 00:17:57,805
where you, uh, do all
your testing you have.

401
00:17:58,305 --> 00:18:01,565
So let's talk about
headlights for motor homes

402
00:18:01,705 --> 00:18:02,965
and I guess tow vehicles too.

403
00:18:03,505 --> 00:18:06,405
- Yes. So what, go ahead.
Anything you wanna know

404
00:18:06,895 --> 00:18:11,005
- Where it gets kind of out
of sync or out of alignment?

405
00:18:11,425 --> 00:18:13,645
You know, it seems like one
headlight's going in one way

406
00:18:13,785 --> 00:18:15,285
or it's shining up or down.

407
00:18:16,345 --> 00:18:17,725
What's that problem? What

408
00:18:17,725 --> 00:18:18,725
- Causes that?

409
00:18:18,725 --> 00:18:21,205
Okay, so, so first off, the,
you know, you have two issues.

410
00:18:21,205 --> 00:18:23,805
First, it, it, sometimes it
seems like it's dim to you,

411
00:18:24,785 --> 00:18:27,045
and then it can be overly bright

412
00:18:27,345 --> 00:18:29,285
and blinding other drivers, you know,

413
00:18:29,285 --> 00:18:30,605
so both situations are bad

414
00:18:30,605 --> 00:18:33,045
because you can't see,
they can't see, right?

415
00:18:33,745 --> 00:18:37,685
Um, and so I guess the, the,
the, the real issue becomes,

416
00:18:37,985 --> 00:18:41,165
uh, you really should be aiming
your headlights if anything

417
00:18:41,165 --> 00:18:43,845
has been done in terms of replacing bulbs,

418
00:18:44,075 --> 00:18:45,805
replacing headlight assemblies.

419
00:18:45,955 --> 00:18:47,565
Some people just pop in a bulb

420
00:18:48,025 --> 00:18:49,365
and hope that it's good enough.

421
00:18:50,225 --> 00:18:53,445
And most of the time it, it
is not good enough with this.

422
00:18:53,625 --> 00:18:56,005
Um, back when I was a young pup, you know,

423
00:18:56,005 --> 00:18:58,125
back in the seventies working
at a gas station, I used

424
00:18:58,125 --> 00:18:59,965
to do headlight alignments
in the seventies.

425
00:19:00,645 --> 00:19:03,085
I don't know of any gas stations to do.

426
00:19:03,125 --> 00:19:05,445
Well, gas stations, all
they do is they sell food.

427
00:19:05,555 --> 00:19:07,445
They don't actually work
on anything anymore.

428
00:19:08,345 --> 00:19:11,405
Um, so yeah, it really
is a matter of alignment.

429
00:19:11,945 --> 00:19:15,845
One of the issues with a
large motor home is the fact

430
00:19:15,845 --> 00:19:17,365
that I don't think there's a lot of shops

431
00:19:17,795 --> 00:19:18,965
that are really equipped.

432
00:19:19,265 --> 00:19:23,525
So you can do this yourself if
you've got a place to do it.

433
00:19:24,075 --> 00:19:27,205
It's not that terribly hard as
long as you follow the steps.

434
00:19:27,715 --> 00:19:30,165
- Well, let's, let's talk
about two different types

435
00:19:30,305 --> 00:19:31,925
of, you say bulbs.

436
00:19:32,105 --> 00:19:35,965
Uh, right? So the, the, the hottest,

437
00:19:35,965 --> 00:19:38,365
newest stuff is are
still LED bulbs, right?

438
00:19:38,365 --> 00:19:40,005
That's we're seeing in the new thing.

439
00:19:40,555 --> 00:19:41,965
When did they start showing up

440
00:19:41,985 --> 00:19:44,765
and what motor, people probably
don't even know whether they

441
00:19:44,765 --> 00:19:46,045
have LED lights or not.

442
00:19:46,435 --> 00:19:48,445
- They may not know
they're, they're optional.

443
00:19:48,645 --> 00:19:50,565
I, I'm mostly familiar with tow vehicles,

444
00:19:50,985 --> 00:19:52,925
but, um, they're, they, and,

445
00:19:52,925 --> 00:19:56,085
but if you have like a class
B, if you have a sprinter, uh,

446
00:19:56,085 --> 00:19:58,125
chassis, uh, in the last three

447
00:19:58,125 --> 00:20:00,565
or four years, they've
been optional in terms

448
00:20:00,565 --> 00:20:03,365
of this since this is what we
call the projector headlights.

449
00:20:03,505 --> 00:20:05,365
So if you look at it and it
looks like you've got like

450
00:20:05,365 --> 00:20:09,605
little round guys like that,
um, it's most likely LED.

451
00:20:09,745 --> 00:20:11,965
You can look it up, look
up your VIN on this thing

452
00:20:11,965 --> 00:20:13,045
and find out if you have them.

453
00:20:13,545 --> 00:20:17,965
Um, LEDs are bluer, like
more bright colored.

454
00:20:17,965 --> 00:20:19,525
They're not yellowish, they're more

455
00:20:20,035 --> 00:20:22,045
blue colored kind of a thing.

456
00:20:22,545 --> 00:20:24,565
Um, and they tend to give you,

457
00:20:24,625 --> 00:20:25,765
if they're done in the right housing,

458
00:20:25,765 --> 00:20:29,525
they give you like a real
defined cutoff line, uh,

459
00:20:29,585 --> 00:20:32,765
on the top, like a real dark
shadow as opposed to kind of a,

460
00:20:33,285 --> 00:20:34,325
a blurry light.

461
00:20:35,275 --> 00:20:38,285
LEDs are very popular. You
can go anywhere and find them.

462
00:20:38,285 --> 00:20:42,205
However, get this, if you just
go stick them in your rv, uh,

463
00:20:42,345 --> 00:20:44,885
no matter what it is, it is no longer DOT

464
00:20:45,245 --> 00:20:46,325
compliant compliant.

465
00:20:46,635 --> 00:20:50,565
That is, department of
Transportation says it's not legal

466
00:20:50,665 --> 00:20:54,725
to put an LED light into a
standard reflector headlight

467
00:20:55,005 --> 00:20:56,685
assembly in the United States.

468
00:20:57,395 --> 00:20:59,565
Your vehicle won't pass
inspection if you do this.

469
00:21:00,705 --> 00:21:03,485
- So <laugh>, okay, so when it,

470
00:21:03,485 --> 00:21:06,165
when should somebody get an LED light?

471
00:21:07,075 --> 00:21:09,685
- Okay, so here's,
- I'm just driving down

472
00:21:09,685 --> 00:21:12,445
and I'm if if my, if it's a
little fuzzy, I'm not seeing

473
00:21:12,465 --> 00:21:14,965
as far as I'm looking,
it's not lined up right.

474
00:21:15,075 --> 00:21:17,005
What, when do I know? Is that the sign?

475
00:21:17,315 --> 00:21:19,045
- Yeah. Well, the sign,
the sign is this, oh.

476
00:21:19,045 --> 00:21:22,805
So for instance, all of us,
as we get older, um, we start

477
00:21:22,805 --> 00:21:24,405
to lose our night vision.

478
00:21:24,825 --> 00:21:26,485
And so this is a normal progression.

479
00:21:26,485 --> 00:21:28,245
There's also a physical thing.

480
00:21:28,245 --> 00:21:30,005
If you go look at the
front of your headlights

481
00:21:30,185 --> 00:21:32,405
and you see that they're
kind of filmed over,

482
00:21:32,745 --> 00:21:35,365
if you've driven 50,000
miles in your vehicle,

483
00:21:36,095 --> 00:21:39,125
those plastic covers
over your headlights will

484
00:21:39,135 --> 00:21:40,325
maybe look scratched up.

485
00:21:40,745 --> 00:21:42,765
That's one thing that creates a lot

486
00:21:42,765 --> 00:21:44,285
of this fuzziness and dimness.

487
00:21:44,505 --> 00:21:46,765
You can get pretty inexpensive kits, 20,

488
00:21:46,765 --> 00:21:49,245
30 bucks that'll allow you to refinish

489
00:21:49,555 --> 00:21:50,685
that and smooth that out.

490
00:21:50,685 --> 00:21:53,005
So that's one thing
that will help. Um, and

491
00:21:53,005 --> 00:21:54,245
- Where, where do you get these kits

492
00:21:54,245 --> 00:21:55,405
at? Auto supply stores,

493
00:21:55,865 --> 00:21:59,325
- You can get 'em, but almost
any auto zone, whatever.

494
00:21:59,525 --> 00:22:01,725
I I, I sent you a link
there to look at one

495
00:22:01,725 --> 00:22:02,885
of these. They're, they're, um,

496
00:22:03,375 --> 00:22:05,205
- We'll put links by the
way, for everybody's just

497
00:22:05,205 --> 00:22:06,405
listening and trying to take notes.

498
00:22:06,405 --> 00:22:08,125
We'll put links in our description below,

499
00:22:08,125 --> 00:22:09,125
- We'll put links in there, right?

500
00:22:09,125 --> 00:22:11,205
Yeah. And, and I'm sorry,
I'm a technical guy.

501
00:22:11,205 --> 00:22:12,485
I do this all the time,

502
00:22:12,665 --> 00:22:15,085
but I'm trying to, I'm trying
to get this, my basic thing,

503
00:22:15,145 --> 00:22:18,085
my, the reason why I got
interested in this, um,

504
00:22:18,285 --> 00:22:20,685
I have what's called
normal tension glaucoma.

505
00:22:21,105 --> 00:22:24,245
And so, you know, I've
had my eyeballs cut apart

506
00:22:24,465 --> 00:22:26,085
and re-plumb while I was awake,

507
00:22:26,215 --> 00:22:28,405
which I don't recommend for anybody to do.

508
00:22:28,625 --> 00:22:32,005
Ooh. But I have a dimness at night.

509
00:22:32,185 --> 00:22:35,605
And so what I'm trying to do
is prolong the, my ability

510
00:22:35,745 --> 00:22:39,165
to drive into the dus
or even summit at night.

511
00:22:39,245 --> 00:22:40,645
I don't like doing it much anymore.

512
00:22:41,185 --> 00:22:43,405
And that was my hint to go do this.

513
00:22:43,415 --> 00:22:46,845
Everything started looking dimmer. Okay?

514
00:22:46,865 --> 00:22:50,445
And so, and then I started
noticing these b bluer headlights

515
00:22:50,445 --> 00:22:51,685
coming at me, right?

516
00:22:51,685 --> 00:22:53,285
And you can see there's
yellowish ones. Yeah.

517
00:22:53,285 --> 00:22:54,365
Which are the tongues stint, right?

518
00:22:54,705 --> 00:22:58,365
And then these, these bluish
ones, which are the LED.

519
00:22:58,625 --> 00:23:00,085
Now, some people just pop 'em in

520
00:23:00,105 --> 00:23:01,925
and they think it's funny
when they're blinding you.

521
00:23:02,125 --> 00:23:03,965
I don't think it's funny at all.

522
00:23:04,425 --> 00:23:07,365
But if you're having
trouble noticing the edge

523
00:23:07,365 --> 00:23:09,885
of the road looking like
you've got no contrast,

524
00:23:10,505 --> 00:23:11,925
it could be your eyes

525
00:23:12,225 --> 00:23:14,205
and it could be that you
need a little bit more

526
00:23:14,235 --> 00:23:15,285
headlight punch.

527
00:23:15,785 --> 00:23:17,405
And that is you get something

528
00:23:17,405 --> 00:23:19,005
that's a little wider in color, something

529
00:23:19,005 --> 00:23:21,165
that we call higher color temperature.

530
00:23:21,715 --> 00:23:23,805
Plus you now can adjust them

531
00:23:23,905 --> 00:23:25,925
so they throw better on the road.

532
00:23:26,715 --> 00:23:28,565
Your headlights could
just be completely out

533
00:23:28,565 --> 00:23:29,605
of alignment. Now

534
00:23:29,735 --> 00:23:31,365
- Let's, let's talk about
the alignment thing.

535
00:23:31,665 --> 00:23:34,245
Can, can people fix that themselves?

536
00:23:34,425 --> 00:23:36,725
You said that you don't
have to go to a dealer.

537
00:23:36,865 --> 00:23:38,605
How, how big of a job is that?

538
00:23:38,755 --> 00:23:40,245
Well, how do you know how to do it?

539
00:23:40,505 --> 00:23:42,485
- How do you know how to do
it? Well, first off, I'm, I'm,

540
00:23:42,665 --> 00:23:44,085
I'm creating a series an,

541
00:23:44,085 --> 00:23:45,965
an article series and a video myself.

542
00:23:46,195 --> 00:23:49,005
I've seen a, uh, a number of websites

543
00:23:49,005 --> 00:23:50,485
that have got some pretty good videos,

544
00:23:50,625 --> 00:23:52,445
but they're not really oriented towards

545
00:23:52,445 --> 00:23:53,565
people that are doing towing.

546
00:23:53,815 --> 00:23:55,685
These are guys that are,
you jack up their trucks

547
00:23:55,685 --> 00:23:56,805
and do crazy stuff, right?

548
00:23:57,305 --> 00:24:01,685
Uh, you need to have at
least 25 feet from the nose

549
00:24:01,745 --> 00:24:05,565
of your vehicle to like
a wall, a white wall,

550
00:24:05,565 --> 00:24:07,165
or a light colored wall in front

551
00:24:07,165 --> 00:24:09,205
of you in order to do the alignment.

552
00:24:09,825 --> 00:24:11,045
Um, then it's a matter

553
00:24:11,045 --> 00:24:13,365
of putting on some painter's
tape in the right, you know,

554
00:24:13,365 --> 00:24:14,885
you, you pull up to this thing and,

555
00:24:14,905 --> 00:24:17,205
and I'm working on a, a
series that shows, you know,

556
00:24:17,205 --> 00:24:20,965
you basically do a, um, a
couple of horizontal lines,

557
00:24:21,125 --> 00:24:22,325
a couple vertical lines,

558
00:24:22,465 --> 00:24:25,845
and then you back up so many
feet, you're, there's a couple

559
00:24:25,845 --> 00:24:28,605
of screws that you can
get to with any of these

560
00:24:28,945 --> 00:24:30,645
to align 'em up and down and sideways.

561
00:24:31,025 --> 00:24:32,605
And then you back up,
and then you're starting

562
00:24:32,625 --> 00:24:34,005
to look at the pattern.

563
00:24:34,605 --> 00:24:36,165
I sent you a couple pictures
that show you the basic

564
00:24:36,165 --> 00:24:37,445
pattern that you're trying to get.

565
00:24:38,485 --> 00:24:42,335
It's, it's not terribly
complicated once you see,

566
00:24:42,605 --> 00:24:44,455
once you see it done, but you gotta

567
00:24:44,455 --> 00:24:45,535
have the room to do this.

568
00:24:45,595 --> 00:24:47,695
So if you got a 40 foot RV <laugh>, you,

569
00:24:48,115 --> 00:24:50,895
you gotta make sure you
can back that thing up so

570
00:24:50,895 --> 00:24:53,575
that your nose is 25
feet away from a wall.

571
00:24:54,555 --> 00:24:57,295
- Now we're gonna send them to your site

572
00:24:57,555 --> 00:24:59,255
and we'll put that link below,

573
00:24:59,435 --> 00:25:02,775
but, uh, save somebody looking
it up, tell us where they go.

574
00:25:03,805 --> 00:25:06,135
Give us your address,
your, your website, right?

575
00:25:06,925 --> 00:25:11,335
- Okay. Go to, to go to my
rv electricity.substack.com.

576
00:25:11,925 --> 00:25:16,095
Okay. So, and one word, RV
electricity.substack.com.

577
00:25:16,395 --> 00:25:20,735
And I have a, a daily, um,
newsletter that I do out of that.

578
00:25:21,075 --> 00:25:24,455
Um, I've written a couple
articles about, I'm studying all

579
00:25:24,455 --> 00:25:26,575
of this, how to do it sort of thing,

580
00:25:27,075 --> 00:25:29,215
but, uh, as it's getting
nice out, guess what?

581
00:25:29,355 --> 00:25:31,935
I'm gonna actually do it. Take
pictures, show people the,

582
00:25:32,475 --> 00:25:34,815
the how it works, and I'm
gonna see if I can find a few

583
00:25:34,825 --> 00:25:37,015
brave people around here in my area

584
00:25:37,015 --> 00:25:38,335
that let me do this on their motor

585
00:25:38,335 --> 00:25:39,855
homes. Won't that be fun? Good.

586
00:25:39,885 --> 00:25:41,255
- That'll be alright. So they,

587
00:25:41,255 --> 00:25:42,735
that's why they can find them now.

588
00:25:42,735 --> 00:25:46,295
Yeah. Um, so the average
person can do this,

589
00:25:46,435 --> 00:25:47,735
and I would assume, talk

590
00:25:47,735 --> 00:25:49,655
to me a little bit about LED lights.

591
00:25:49,655 --> 00:25:51,295
Something you said, uh,

592
00:25:51,295 --> 00:25:54,215
concerned me when you said
you just can't pop out your

593
00:25:54,575 --> 00:25:57,455
existing bulb and put
in an LED bulb, right?

594
00:25:57,715 --> 00:25:59,415
Uh, who can do that?

595
00:25:59,475 --> 00:26:02,135
Or do you have to
upgrade the, the assembly

596
00:26:02,165 --> 00:26:03,175
that it fits into?

597
00:26:03,725 --> 00:26:07,055
- Okay, the gold standard
is to upgrade the assembly,

598
00:26:07,115 --> 00:26:09,935
and that's what I'm, I'm
gonna do, I have a 2020 F-150

599
00:26:09,935 --> 00:26:11,335
that I use as my tow vehicle.

600
00:26:12,195 --> 00:26:15,215
Um, it has what we call the
reflector headlights of the,

601
00:26:15,635 --> 00:26:18,535
you kind of kind of see like
the big openings on them.

602
00:26:19,075 --> 00:26:22,815
Um, what I'm doing is I'm
looking at LED projector bulbs.

603
00:26:22,955 --> 00:26:25,175
Now that's not cheap. That's
about a thousand bucks

604
00:26:25,195 --> 00:26:27,215
for the pair of those headlights.

605
00:26:27,635 --> 00:26:29,655
And I'm not sure, even
if they're available

606
00:26:30,355 --> 00:26:31,415
for most motor homes.

607
00:26:31,915 --> 00:26:34,895
The real thing is if you
just go to LED bulbs,

608
00:26:35,245 --> 00:26:37,415
there's cheap ones and then
there's expensive ones.

609
00:26:37,515 --> 00:26:40,135
The cheap ones are almost
impossible to align.

610
00:26:40,195 --> 00:26:42,935
So if you get these for 30
bucks a piece, guess what?

611
00:26:43,425 --> 00:26:45,845
You're never gonna be able to
get these properly aligned.

612
00:26:46,765 --> 00:26:50,285
A quality one is more on the order of 75

613
00:26:50,305 --> 00:26:51,405
to a hundred dollars a piece.

614
00:26:51,425 --> 00:26:55,645
You might pay $200 for a
pair of proper LED bulbs

615
00:26:55,835 --> 00:26:58,685
that can be aligned, that
will pass inspection.

616
00:26:59,745 --> 00:27:01,925
But if you, if you just go get the,

617
00:27:01,985 --> 00:27:03,885
you don't go price shopping on this stuff.

618
00:27:04,585 --> 00:27:08,125
Um, I, I found a a, there's an
awful lot of sites out there.

619
00:27:08,125 --> 00:27:10,765
They're junk. The other
thing that you've gotta worry

620
00:27:10,765 --> 00:27:13,845
with some of them, the, the
ones my kids put in my truck

621
00:27:13,845 --> 00:27:17,685
for me, my, my little Nissan,
um, they generate a lot

622
00:27:17,685 --> 00:27:19,805
of high frequency RF noise.

623
00:27:20,425 --> 00:27:22,405
So basically when you turn your lights on,

624
00:27:22,995 --> 00:27:24,525
your radio doesn't work anymore.

625
00:27:25,545 --> 00:27:28,365
- Really? <laugh>,
- Who knew? Who knew?

626
00:27:28,985 --> 00:27:31,485
Um, of course I'm an RF
guy as opposed and, and,

627
00:27:31,505 --> 00:27:32,565
and also an audio guy.

628
00:27:32,565 --> 00:27:34,605
So I'm looking at this,
I'm going, oh, I see.

629
00:27:34,905 --> 00:27:37,965
So you need something
that a actually is rated

630
00:27:38,555 --> 00:27:42,225
that it has low art radio interference

631
00:27:42,645 --> 00:27:46,025
and you won't have something
if you have a modern vehicle,

632
00:27:46,525 --> 00:27:48,465
it has to provide the proper loads

633
00:27:48,465 --> 00:27:50,865
because your computer in
your vehicle is saying,

634
00:27:51,185 --> 00:27:52,465
I think my headlights out

635
00:27:52,465 --> 00:27:54,065
because it's not drawing enough current.

636
00:27:54,065 --> 00:27:57,345
Right? Guess what? It's LED lights.

637
00:27:57,445 --> 00:28:01,185
So sometimes by putting
them in, it will go ahead

638
00:28:01,285 --> 00:28:04,065
and tell your computer that
your headlights are out

639
00:28:04,065 --> 00:28:05,665
or your taille lights are out or whatever.

640
00:28:06,005 --> 00:28:08,825
So again, you just don't go,
just pop these in arbitrarily.

641
00:28:08,825 --> 00:28:10,065
You have to do a little research first.

642
00:28:10,525 --> 00:28:12,825
- Now, if you're buying a
new vehicle, a tow vehicle

643
00:28:12,965 --> 00:28:16,625
or a motor home, um, you
should be able to get this.

644
00:28:16,625 --> 00:28:18,825
And it's an option you
say, to get the LED,

645
00:28:18,855 --> 00:28:19,855
- Many of them.

646
00:28:19,855 --> 00:28:22,465
So for instance, in the
2020 F1 fifties, um,

647
00:28:22,805 --> 00:28:25,905
it could either, um, it could
either have the older tungsten

648
00:28:25,905 --> 00:28:27,345
type or it could have an LED.

649
00:28:27,515 --> 00:28:32,225
Sadly, mine had the, um, the
tungsten type my wife's card,

650
00:28:32,285 --> 00:28:35,425
and she's got a, uh, this
little Kia Sorrento, guess what?

651
00:28:35,475 --> 00:28:37,905
She's got the ILED bulbs.
Her headlights are great.

652
00:28:37,975 --> 00:28:38,985
I've got a great comparison.

653
00:28:39,405 --> 00:28:42,145
Get in her car, I can see
everything. Get in my truck.

654
00:28:42,145 --> 00:28:43,785
It's like, Ooh, that's not so good.

655
00:28:44,565 --> 00:28:47,625
- It, it sounds to me,
Mike, that if I had a, a,

656
00:28:47,705 --> 00:28:49,065
a motor home, uh,

657
00:28:49,125 --> 00:28:51,305
and I had the tungsten bulbs,

658
00:28:52,125 --> 00:28:55,785
I'm better off replacing
those in terms of, uh,

659
00:28:55,785 --> 00:28:58,345
and aligning those than
getting LED at that ex,

660
00:28:58,345 --> 00:28:59,505
because they're so expensive.

661
00:28:59,935 --> 00:29:01,665
- Yeah, you are. And Venia

662
00:29:01,685 --> 00:29:05,065
and a few of these others
companies make these high output

663
00:29:05,345 --> 00:29:08,225
tungsten bulbs that should
be very easy to align.

664
00:29:08,805 --> 00:29:11,945
Um, one of the disadvantages
when you have a brighter light

665
00:29:11,945 --> 00:29:14,745
like we do in projectors,
um, like remember,

666
00:29:15,185 --> 00:29:16,665
remember the old overhead projectors

667
00:29:16,665 --> 00:29:19,785
and all that kind of stuff
back in, back in the day, um,

668
00:29:20,155 --> 00:29:23,025
those don't have as long
a lifespan as an LED.

669
00:29:23,025 --> 00:29:25,545
So you might end up replacing
that bulb in a couple

670
00:29:25,545 --> 00:29:29,345
of years, depending on how
much you drive at night. But

671
00:29:29,345 --> 00:29:32,665
- At a thousand bucks a pop for a set, um,

672
00:29:33,265 --> 00:29:34,705
I can afford to do that with a T,

673
00:29:34,925 --> 00:29:36,665
- But probably so, probably so.

674
00:29:36,665 --> 00:29:39,345
Yeah. And, and again, you
know, what happens is a lot

675
00:29:39,345 --> 00:29:40,465
of these more Moto

676
00:29:40,485 --> 00:29:41,485
and these other companies

677
00:29:41,485 --> 00:29:44,485
that make these LED headlight
assemblies, they're doing 'em

678
00:29:44,485 --> 00:29:46,605
for fashion because, you
know, they're jet black

679
00:29:46,665 --> 00:29:48,165
and they've got all
these things that blink

680
00:29:48,265 --> 00:29:49,365
and they've got, this is kids

681
00:29:49,365 --> 00:29:51,045
that wanna make their
truck look distinctive.

682
00:29:51,405 --> 00:29:53,365
I don't care if people are
impressed when I'm coming,

683
00:29:53,885 --> 00:29:54,965
I just wanna see where I'm going.

684
00:29:55,345 --> 00:29:56,485
- That's the way we all are.

685
00:29:56,485 --> 00:29:58,685
Well, Mike, you've really
helped us on a problem

686
00:29:58,715 --> 00:30:02,285
that I think a lot of us,
uh, yeah, there's not a lot

687
00:30:02,285 --> 00:30:03,805
of information about this stuff out there.

688
00:30:03,945 --> 00:30:06,325
So we're gonna send
everybody to RV electricity.

689
00:30:06,465 --> 00:30:09,365
Do sub sub stack.com and,

690
00:30:09,425 --> 00:30:11,805
and again, that link will be
in the descriptions below.

691
00:30:12,505 --> 00:30:16,165
Um, you are, as always a very
well guest here in the podcast

692
00:30:16,385 --> 00:30:20,565
as we understand things about
RV electricity, you are Mr.

693
00:30:21,225 --> 00:30:22,765
rv, electricity, <laugh>,

694
00:30:23,045 --> 00:30:24,285
anything else you're up to these days.

695
00:30:24,285 --> 00:30:25,285
Everybody ought to know about,

696
00:30:26,185 --> 00:30:30,085
- Oh, I'm doing a bunch of,
uh, information on upgrading

697
00:30:30,105 --> 00:30:31,805
to lithium batteries and solar panels.

698
00:30:32,465 --> 00:30:35,885
I'm doing deep, deep dives in
that, which I think is just so

699
00:30:36,565 --> 00:30:38,845
fascinating because
again, you can go anywhere

700
00:30:38,845 --> 00:30:40,885
and just buy a lithium
battery and pop it in.

701
00:30:40,885 --> 00:30:43,765
But guess what? You really
have to consider a lot

702
00:30:43,765 --> 00:30:45,045
of different things before you just

703
00:30:45,045 --> 00:30:46,165
drop in a lithium battery.

704
00:30:46,435 --> 00:30:47,685
- Yeah, we've been saying that for years.

705
00:30:47,905 --> 00:30:51,285
You got the inverter, the
charger, the wiring, the harness,

706
00:30:52,025 --> 00:30:55,325
uh, just on, I don't wanna
go off on a tangent on

707
00:30:55,325 --> 00:30:56,365
that or maybe we'll get you back.

708
00:30:56,505 --> 00:30:58,685
Are, is lithium ever
gonna come down in price?

709
00:30:58,685 --> 00:31:00,525
There's still a thousand bucks a battery.

710
00:31:00,795 --> 00:31:01,925
- Well, they're coming. No, no, no.

711
00:31:01,925 --> 00:31:03,605
They're coming down a, they're
coming down a good bit.

712
00:31:03,605 --> 00:31:05,125
They are, they are steadily falling,

713
00:31:05,385 --> 00:31:07,405
but what's happening is they're
getting bigger and bigger.

714
00:31:07,505 --> 00:31:08,805
So it used to be, you know,

715
00:31:09,165 --> 00:31:10,565
a hundred amp hour as big as you can get.

716
00:31:10,685 --> 00:31:14,005
I have 200 amp hour
batteries. Two hundreds. Yeah.

717
00:31:14,075 --> 00:31:18,205
I've got a 400 amp hour battery
in, in my little Geo pro.

718
00:31:18,705 --> 00:31:22,045
Uh, so people are cramming
more and more of them in there.

719
00:31:22,425 --> 00:31:23,845
Uh, they are coming down in price.

720
00:31:24,165 --> 00:31:27,085
Although I will warn you
though, that if you go just

721
00:31:27,145 --> 00:31:28,485
by the cheapest one that you could find,

722
00:31:28,485 --> 00:31:32,045
it may not have the correct
battery management system,

723
00:31:32,105 --> 00:31:33,245
the correct BMS.

724
00:31:33,985 --> 00:31:36,125
And that's when these
things catch on fire.

725
00:31:36,595 --> 00:31:38,605
- Yeah. And, and that's, those are really,

726
00:31:38,655 --> 00:31:41,125
those are the cheapies and
there's a lot of them out there.

727
00:31:41,185 --> 00:31:43,085
So stay, they're everywhere. A good brand.

728
00:31:43,115 --> 00:31:44,445
Alright, well, we'll get back to

729
00:31:44,445 --> 00:31:45,805
that one on a separate interview,

730
00:31:45,825 --> 00:31:47,445
but, uh, always interesting

731
00:31:47,665 --> 00:31:50,205
and, uh, I appreciate so much
you're spending some time

732
00:31:50,205 --> 00:31:51,325
with this Mike.

733
00:31:51,325 --> 00:31:54,325
So-called RV electricity.substack.com.

734
00:31:54,595 --> 00:31:55,845
Mike, thanks for being on the podcast.

735
00:31:56,515 --> 00:31:57,805
- Okay, thanks Mike, very much.

736
00:31:58,865 --> 00:32:02,605
- And if that's a little more
than your skill level, uh,

737
00:32:02,785 --> 00:32:04,885
I'm sure you can find somebody
that can do it for you,

738
00:32:05,065 --> 00:32:06,605
an RV repair person,

739
00:32:06,755 --> 00:32:08,925
because that's something
that we just don't think of,

740
00:32:09,665 --> 00:32:11,405
but man, when those lights are right,

741
00:32:12,365 --> 00:32:16,445
- I remember our very first
motor home, which was a class B

742
00:32:16,955 --> 00:32:21,045
road track, we bought a used
one and it was kind of cockey.

743
00:32:21,065 --> 00:32:22,325
Do you remember that headline? Oh, those

744
00:32:22,325 --> 00:32:22,965
- Lights. You couldn't see a

745
00:32:22,965 --> 00:32:23,965
- Thing.

746
00:32:23,965 --> 00:32:23,965
And every time I drove down the road,

747
00:32:24,125 --> 00:32:25,085
somebody was flashing their lights.

748
00:32:25,085 --> 00:32:27,365
They were mad at me and mine were on dim,

749
00:32:27,825 --> 00:32:29,965
but it was, the headlight was aligned

750
00:32:29,985 --> 00:32:33,725
and I took it to, uh, I don't
even remember where I took it.

751
00:32:33,765 --> 00:32:37,525
I think I just took it to a
regular RV service, uh, bay.

752
00:32:37,665 --> 00:32:39,805
And they had it all fixed up for me.

753
00:32:39,805 --> 00:32:41,285
And what a difference it made. So

754
00:32:41,465 --> 00:32:42,645
- That's something not everybody

755
00:32:42,645 --> 00:32:44,125
thinks about their headlights. Yeah.

756
00:32:44,155 --> 00:32:45,325
- Glad Mike. So-called did.

757
00:32:45,325 --> 00:32:47,605
And thanks Mike for sharing your expertise

758
00:32:47,605 --> 00:32:48,645
with us on the podcast.

759
00:32:49,545 --> 00:32:51,605
RV News of the week is
coming up right after this.

760
00:32:52,585 --> 00:32:55,805
- We just heard about a
land offering out west for

761
00:32:56,425 --> 00:32:57,925
RVs in Arizona.

762
00:32:58,355 --> 00:33:00,925
They're selling five acre RV ranches,

763
00:33:01,205 --> 00:33:03,485
starting at only $49,900.

764
00:33:04,105 --> 00:33:06,365
The company offering it is affiliated

765
00:33:06,475 --> 00:33:07,605
with the people Jennifer

766
00:33:07,705 --> 00:33:09,925
and I bought our Tennessee property from.

767
00:33:10,195 --> 00:33:13,125
They do a great job. It looks amazing.

768
00:33:13,425 --> 00:33:16,445
It is at high elevation, so
you get cooler temperatures,

769
00:33:16,865 --> 00:33:20,245
big mountain views, juniper
trees, and green grasses.

770
00:33:20,825 --> 00:33:22,525
And it is near everything.

771
00:33:22,705 --> 00:33:25,805
The Grand Canyon Lake Havasu, Kingman,

772
00:33:26,155 --> 00:33:27,805
Flagstaff, and Sedona.

773
00:33:28,435 --> 00:33:30,245
It's a perfect place to have a home base

774
00:33:30,305 --> 00:33:34,565
to explore the west, and it
is right off Famous Route 66.

775
00:33:35,355 --> 00:33:37,045
It's called Greenwood Ranches.

776
00:33:37,105 --> 00:33:39,925
And this is the second and
final section of the community.

777
00:33:40,425 --> 00:33:42,485
We met the sales manager, really nice guy.

778
00:33:42,785 --> 00:33:44,565
He bought a property for his rv

779
00:33:44,665 --> 00:33:46,805
and he's building a container home on it.

780
00:33:47,255 --> 00:33:49,685
Check out their website for a video tour

781
00:33:49,785 --> 00:33:51,245
and showing availability.

782
00:33:51,355 --> 00:33:52,605
It's pretty incredible.

783
00:33:53,255 --> 00:33:55,005
Visit the website to get details

784
00:33:55,145 --> 00:33:58,645
and set up a showing Arizona RV land.net.

785
00:33:58,985 --> 00:34:01,725
That's Arizona RV land.net.

786
00:34:04,205 --> 00:34:07,615
- Welcome back time now for
the RV News of the week.

787
00:34:07,715 --> 00:34:09,055
And what do we got this week? Okay,

788
00:34:09,055 --> 00:34:12,255
- This week numar is the
latest RV manufacturer

789
00:34:12,395 --> 00:34:16,135
to lay off employees, citing
decreased customer demand,

790
00:34:16,685 --> 00:34:18,495
dealers, inventory levels,

791
00:34:18,915 --> 00:34:20,855
and other business considerations.

792
00:34:21,555 --> 00:34:23,655
We were not able to find the exact number

793
00:34:23,655 --> 00:34:27,495
of employees laid off at, uh,
Nu Mar's, Indiana site that,

794
00:34:27,635 --> 00:34:29,695
but as, uh, interest rates stay high

795
00:34:30,155 --> 00:34:32,175
and the economy remains uncertain.

796
00:34:32,645 --> 00:34:35,735
Many people are postponing
expensive RV purchases

797
00:34:36,075 --> 00:34:37,815
and the industry it's failing. It.

798
00:34:37,885 --> 00:34:39,015
- It's not just Numar.

799
00:34:39,015 --> 00:34:41,855
There have been, uh,
production adjustments.

800
00:34:41,855 --> 00:34:43,255
That's the way the industry likes

801
00:34:43,255 --> 00:34:44,975
to talk about it when it goes down

802
00:34:44,975 --> 00:34:47,815
or they have to cancel
shifts or layoff people.

803
00:34:48,195 --> 00:34:51,295
Uh, it's being felt all
across the, uh, the industry.

804
00:34:51,835 --> 00:34:55,055
- And, uh, Numar is a
luxury motor home maker

805
00:34:55,445 --> 00:34:58,935
that was purchased by
Winnebago Industries in 2019.

806
00:34:59,515 --> 00:35:01,975
And Winnebago has been
in the news recently

807
00:35:02,355 --> 00:35:04,255
for falling profits and, uh, sales

808
00:35:04,555 --> 00:35:05,555
- And many others.

809
00:35:05,555 --> 00:35:07,135
Forest River announced, uh,

810
00:35:07,595 --> 00:35:10,615
it was laying off 83
employees in February.

811
00:35:11,195 --> 00:35:14,935
Uh, Keystone RV has, uh, cut
back on some of its production.

812
00:35:15,435 --> 00:35:18,375
Um, the industry's hoping
for an upturn with, uh,

813
00:35:18,675 --> 00:35:20,855
the suspected interest rate cuts.

814
00:35:20,955 --> 00:35:24,055
But you know, we, I read
a story the other day, uh,

815
00:35:24,115 --> 00:35:26,015
in a reliable publication.

816
00:35:26,135 --> 00:35:27,935
I don't remember where
now, but, uh, it said

817
00:35:27,935 --> 00:35:31,415
that food inflation is up 40%. Wow.

818
00:35:31,775 --> 00:35:32,895
- I
- Believe it. Yeah, I mean,

819
00:35:32,895 --> 00:35:34,495
you just notice at the grocery store.

820
00:35:34,595 --> 00:35:36,855
So, uh, people are skittish no matter

821
00:35:36,855 --> 00:35:38,180
what the government says about

822
00:35:38,180 --> 00:35:40,445
how great the economy people
are, definitely skiddish.

823
00:35:40,475 --> 00:35:42,045
Just ask any RV salesman.

824
00:35:42,785 --> 00:35:45,165
So, um, that's what, uh,
what you'll find out.

825
00:35:45,625 --> 00:35:48,525
Uh, if you're shopping for a
new rv, we got news for you.

826
00:35:48,755 --> 00:35:50,165
- It's a buyer's market.
- Yeah.

827
00:35:50,745 --> 00:35:52,645
Hey, uh, if you are in Arizona,

828
00:35:52,925 --> 00:35:54,845
anywhere near Saguaro National Park,

829
00:35:55,425 --> 00:36:00,285
the giant Saguaro Cactus,
um, keep an eye, uh, out

830
00:36:00,425 --> 00:36:02,645
for any fox that you may encounter

831
00:36:02,665 --> 00:36:04,125
and then keep a lot of distance.

832
00:36:04,845 --> 00:36:06,765
National Park Service reporting three

833
00:36:07,525 --> 00:36:11,125
separate fox attacks on people
who've been hiking along the

834
00:36:11,355 --> 00:36:12,525
Hugh Norris Trail.

835
00:36:12,785 --> 00:36:16,685
Uh, in that park, uh, the
hikers in each case were able

836
00:36:16,685 --> 00:36:20,925
to fight off the fox, uh, two
of them with trekking poles.

837
00:36:21,585 --> 00:36:22,685
And then Friday,

838
00:36:22,915 --> 00:36:25,605
that same fox approached
a park service officer,

839
00:36:25,825 --> 00:36:28,725
and, uh, they euthanized it <laugh>.

840
00:36:28,725 --> 00:36:30,885
That's the way they, they shot it <laugh>.

841
00:36:31,465 --> 00:36:33,765
And, uh, his body was
sent for rabies testing.

842
00:36:34,105 --> 00:36:36,685
All three victims of the
Fox attack are being treated

843
00:36:36,745 --> 00:36:40,125
for rabies, but it's always
good to remind folks of bats

844
00:36:40,125 --> 00:36:42,485
and raccoons and fox and skunks,

845
00:36:42,485 --> 00:36:45,845
or all animals that can
be infected with rabies.

846
00:36:46,305 --> 00:36:48,965
Um, so if in your travels
you encounter an animal

847
00:36:48,965 --> 00:36:50,445
that's unusually aggressive

848
00:36:51,265 --> 00:36:53,245
or seems to have no fear of humans,

849
00:36:53,385 --> 00:36:56,565
or just acts unusual, keep your distance.

850
00:36:57,865 --> 00:36:59,765
- And, uh, this is a sad story.

851
00:37:00,325 --> 00:37:04,125
A woman who was riding in a
moving airstream was killed

852
00:37:04,125 --> 00:37:07,205
after winds opened the
trailer door and she fell out.

853
00:37:07,945 --> 00:37:11,325
The woman, the woman you, are you okay?

854
00:37:11,465 --> 00:37:13,325
- I'm sorry. Yeah. Uh,
you gotta pick it up.

855
00:37:13,325 --> 00:37:15,685
This is a tragic story. A
woman died over the weekend.

856
00:37:16,555 --> 00:37:17,885
- This is a tragic story.

857
00:37:18,005 --> 00:37:19,325
A woman died over the weekend

858
00:37:19,335 --> 00:37:22,485
after she fell out of her
moving Airstream travel trailer.

859
00:37:23,015 --> 00:37:25,285
After the camper door swung open,

860
00:37:25,985 --> 00:37:29,325
the trailer was being pulled
by a ram pickup truck.

861
00:37:29,665 --> 00:37:31,285
And strong winds were blamed

862
00:37:31,285 --> 00:37:33,445
for causing the Airstream
door to swing open.

863
00:37:34,145 --> 00:37:37,005
The woman, a well-known
physician from Long Island

864
00:37:37,545 --> 00:37:38,765
was traveling with her husband

865
00:37:38,905 --> 00:37:41,045
and family in Brownsville, New York.

866
00:37:41,465 --> 00:37:43,885
And they were only about 20
minutes away from their home

867
00:37:44,435 --> 00:37:47,245
when this tragic a accident happened,

868
00:37:47,585 --> 00:37:49,405
and our hearts go out to this family

869
00:37:49,985 --> 00:37:50,985
- In some places.

870
00:37:50,985 --> 00:37:54,965
It is, um, uh, against the
law to ride in, uh, a trailer,

871
00:37:55,305 --> 00:37:56,845
um, that's being towed.

872
00:37:57,385 --> 00:38:00,965
Um, it is not safe. This
was a freak accident.

873
00:38:01,265 --> 00:38:02,765
Uh, it was tragic.

874
00:38:03,105 --> 00:38:05,125
Uh, they, they, I read the accounts of it.

875
00:38:05,125 --> 00:38:06,725
They said that the wind opened it

876
00:38:06,725 --> 00:38:10,645
and she was hanging onto the
trailer door and it opened

877
00:38:10,785 --> 00:38:14,045
and people on the highway saw
it and she lost her, her grip

878
00:38:14,185 --> 00:38:16,325
and just, uh, our hearts
go out to the family.

879
00:38:16,465 --> 00:38:18,245
But, uh, just be careful out there.

880
00:38:18,385 --> 00:38:20,565
Uh, things can happen and
they can happen. Very quick.

881
00:38:21,345 --> 00:38:24,645
We got two RV questions
of the week coming up,

882
00:38:24,645 --> 00:38:26,525
and one was gonna dig into probably one

883
00:38:26,525 --> 00:38:29,445
of the more controversial topics
out there in the RV world.

884
00:38:29,545 --> 00:38:31,045
And that has to do with something called

885
00:38:31,635 --> 00:38:33,725
Excessive Frame Flex.

886
00:38:33,985 --> 00:38:35,205
What's that about? Is

887
00:38:35,205 --> 00:38:36,605
that something you have
to be worried about?

888
00:38:36,605 --> 00:38:38,725
If you have a fifth wheel,
we'll talk about that

889
00:38:39,105 --> 00:38:42,845
and more when the questions
of the week return after this,

890
00:38:43,715 --> 00:38:46,485
- When we're asked, what's the
most important modification

891
00:38:46,545 --> 00:38:49,045
we made to our rv, it's an easy answer.

892
00:38:49,465 --> 00:38:50,925
Battle borne batteries.

893
00:38:51,065 --> 00:38:55,125
Battle borne batteries are
quality, safe, reliable lithium

894
00:38:55,685 --> 00:38:57,125
batteries that allow us

895
00:38:57,385 --> 00:39:00,165
to stay out there off the grid longer.

896
00:39:00,715 --> 00:39:02,445
Lithium batteries charge faster.

897
00:39:02,675 --> 00:39:03,685
They charge fuller,

898
00:39:03,685 --> 00:39:05,845
they're longer lasting,
they're maintenance free.

899
00:39:06,225 --> 00:39:08,445
And battle borne batteries are protected

900
00:39:08,445 --> 00:39:10,885
by a 10 year guarantee.

901
00:39:11,585 --> 00:39:15,685
Now in our case, they just
dropped into the existing a GM

902
00:39:15,965 --> 00:39:18,285
batteries that we have,
and they'll probably be the

903
00:39:18,285 --> 00:39:19,445
same on your rig too.

904
00:39:19,815 --> 00:39:23,685
Battleborn battery experts
can get those in your rig just

905
00:39:23,685 --> 00:39:25,005
like they did with ours.

906
00:39:25,005 --> 00:39:26,885
They can also match you
up with the right cabling,

907
00:39:26,885 --> 00:39:30,085
the inverter, the charger, the
solar controller, everything.

908
00:39:31,005 --> 00:39:34,005
Jennifer and I swear by
our battle born batteries,

909
00:39:34,035 --> 00:39:37,005
they allow us to boondock off the grid.

910
00:39:37,295 --> 00:39:38,445
Check 'em out. Go

911
00:39:38,445 --> 00:39:41,685
to rv lifestyle.com/lithium rv

912
00:39:41,685 --> 00:39:43,885
lifestyle.com/lithium

913
00:39:45,255 --> 00:39:47,225
- Time now for the RV
questions of the week.

914
00:39:47,225 --> 00:39:49,025
And we wanna remind you
that we'd love getting your

915
00:39:49,185 --> 00:39:50,665
questions and we love
getting your comments.

916
00:39:51,205 --> 00:39:53,025
Our personal email address is Mike

917
00:39:53,025 --> 00:39:56,425
and jen@rvlifestyle.com. You got our first

918
00:39:56,585 --> 00:39:57,585
- Question.

919
00:39:57,585 --> 00:40:01,145
I certainly do. We just bought
a 12-year-old meticulously

920
00:40:01,295 --> 00:40:05,665
kept class CRVI have been
told online that many, uh,

921
00:40:05,995 --> 00:40:07,385
parks won't let us camp there

922
00:40:07,385 --> 00:40:09,465
because our rig is over 10 years old.

923
00:40:09,925 --> 00:40:13,065
Is this true? We are, we're
very worried. We made a mistake.

924
00:40:13,085 --> 00:40:14,225
That's Darrell and Tracy.

925
00:40:14,765 --> 00:40:16,985
- Um, don't believe
everything you see online.

926
00:40:16,985 --> 00:40:19,905
Darrell and Tracy <laugh>. Uh,
and don't stress about this.

927
00:40:20,165 --> 00:40:23,385
If, if your rig, it was
meticulously maintained as you said,

928
00:40:24,005 --> 00:40:25,505
uh, and if it looks good

929
00:40:25,725 --> 00:40:29,025
and it's clean, you should
have no issues at all.

930
00:40:29,125 --> 00:40:33,345
Now, some RV parks mostly,
uh, commercial parks, uh,

931
00:40:33,565 --> 00:40:35,865
do indeed have that 10 year rule,

932
00:40:36,525 --> 00:40:39,265
but it is applied very discretionally,

933
00:40:39,445 --> 00:40:40,665
uh, with a lot of discretion.

934
00:40:40,805 --> 00:40:45,425
RV parks, they don't want
this decrepit looking, poorly

935
00:40:45,945 --> 00:40:47,145
maintained RVs.

936
00:40:47,725 --> 00:40:49,545
Um, so if your Class C looks

937
00:40:49,805 --> 00:40:51,265
and runs good, uh,

938
00:40:51,265 --> 00:40:54,145
we can't imagine you
having any problem at all.

939
00:40:54,405 --> 00:40:57,185
And, uh, we've not heard
of this at any state parks

940
00:40:57,205 --> 00:40:58,225
or government parks.

941
00:40:58,645 --> 00:41:02,585
Uh, only some of the, uh,
uh, the more high end, uh,

942
00:41:02,585 --> 00:41:04,425
commercial parks have that rule.

943
00:41:04,925 --> 00:41:06,785
Um, but I wouldn't worry in your case.

944
00:41:06,785 --> 00:41:09,065
Sounds like you've got
a great looking Class C

945
00:41:09,085 --> 00:41:10,665
and hope you got a great price on it

946
00:41:10,665 --> 00:41:12,585
and hope you have a great
summer, enjoying it.

947
00:41:13,325 --> 00:41:17,145
- Our second question, I
keep hearing about frame flex

948
00:41:17,205 --> 00:41:19,105
issues affecting various fifth wheels.

949
00:41:19,645 --> 00:41:23,225
How concerned should I
be about, uh, camping

950
00:41:23,225 --> 00:41:24,465
with this James?

951
00:41:24,855 --> 00:41:28,385
- Well, James, that issue
is indeed getting a lot

952
00:41:28,385 --> 00:41:30,105
of attention these days.

953
00:41:30,325 --> 00:41:34,525
Um, really started earlier,
uh, late last year, really

954
00:41:34,525 --> 00:41:37,885
with the some YouTube
influencers, several of them, uh,

955
00:41:38,285 --> 00:41:40,685
documenting problems that they had

956
00:41:40,715 --> 00:41:42,525
with excessive frame flex.

957
00:41:43,225 --> 00:41:44,605
Now I wanna point out we have, Jennifer

958
00:41:44,605 --> 00:41:45,965
and I have owned two fifth wheels now

959
00:41:45,965 --> 00:41:47,645
and neither has had those issues.

960
00:41:48,265 --> 00:41:52,405
Um, in fact, despite a lot
of recent controversy, uh,

961
00:41:52,475 --> 00:41:55,165
excessive frame flex is very rare.

962
00:41:55,905 --> 00:41:58,685
And some estimates I've
read said that it may be as

963
00:41:58,905 --> 00:42:03,005
as little as 1%, and that
is only for very large

964
00:42:03,185 --> 00:42:04,645
and very heavy fifth wheels

965
00:42:04,645 --> 00:42:08,605
and toy haulers that weigh
in excess of 17,000 pounds.

966
00:42:09,345 --> 00:42:12,885
Um, very small segment of
fifth wheels on the road, uh,

967
00:42:12,915 --> 00:42:15,885
have this issue, but it is an issue, uh,

968
00:42:16,065 --> 00:42:19,725
and it happens when the
frame of the RV flexes

969
00:42:19,785 --> 00:42:21,525
or bends excessively,

970
00:42:22,345 --> 00:42:25,845
and that can lead to
structural integrity concerns.

971
00:42:25,905 --> 00:42:28,005
And then of course,
potential safety hazards.

972
00:42:28,995 --> 00:42:31,925
It's important to, to note
that RVs are designed for

973
00:42:31,925 --> 00:42:32,965
that frame to flex.

974
00:42:33,145 --> 00:42:35,805
All of them are designed
to have some frame flex.

975
00:42:35,955 --> 00:42:37,445
They're supposed to do that.

976
00:42:37,985 --> 00:42:40,765
But the problem is excessive
frame flex that, uh,

977
00:42:40,825 --> 00:42:44,165
can come about, uh, due to a
lot of reasons, uh, including

978
00:42:44,845 --> 00:42:47,805
overloading, you know, putting
too much weight on the rv.

979
00:42:47,985 --> 00:42:50,645
That's why it's important
you know, how much your, uh,

980
00:42:50,645 --> 00:42:52,285
maximum carrying capacity is.

981
00:42:52,505 --> 00:42:54,405
Too much weight can strain that frame.

982
00:42:54,505 --> 00:42:58,205
It can cause it to flex
beyond its intended limits.

983
00:42:58,265 --> 00:43:01,925
That's one cause. Another
is, um, poor construction

984
00:43:02,065 --> 00:43:03,125
or poor design.

985
00:43:03,345 --> 00:43:07,885
In some cases, RV manufacturers
may use inadequate materials

986
00:43:08,025 --> 00:43:09,485
or construction techniques,

987
00:43:09,585 --> 00:43:12,165
and that can cause frame flex issues.

988
00:43:12,945 --> 00:43:15,765
Uh, road issues, pay apart rough roads.

989
00:43:16,105 --> 00:43:17,405
Um, lots

990
00:43:17,405 --> 00:43:21,125
of frequent travel on uneven
terrain can exasperate the,

991
00:43:21,185 --> 00:43:25,845
the frame flex by subjecting
the RV to constant stress and,

992
00:43:25,865 --> 00:43:29,125
and vibration, uh, aging and wear.

993
00:43:29,345 --> 00:43:33,525
As an RG RV ages, uh, the
frame could weaken due

994
00:43:33,525 --> 00:43:37,725
to corrosion and fatigue and
other forms of deterioration.

995
00:43:37,785 --> 00:43:39,965
It makes it more susceptible to flexing.

996
00:43:40,985 --> 00:43:44,165
But excessive frame flex is
what we're talking about here,

997
00:43:44,185 --> 00:43:49,045
and it shows in various ways
such as, uh, visible bending

998
00:43:49,045 --> 00:43:50,605
or twisting of the chassis.

999
00:43:50,665 --> 00:43:54,725
That's rare. Uh, uneven
weight distribution, uh,

1000
00:43:54,725 --> 00:43:56,085
difficulty in handling

1001
00:43:56,105 --> 00:43:57,485
or maneuvering the rv,

1002
00:43:57,485 --> 00:43:59,645
if you notice a big
change in that recently.

1003
00:44:00,385 --> 00:44:04,365
Uh, increased wear and tear
on components like your tires

1004
00:44:04,665 --> 00:44:06,965
or your suspension and body panels.

1005
00:44:08,075 --> 00:44:09,125
Most often,

1006
00:44:10,075 --> 00:44:13,165
excessive frame flex shows
itself in the front portion

1007
00:44:13,305 --> 00:44:17,965
of the fifth wheel where the
upper deck, the, the bottom

1008
00:44:18,025 --> 00:44:21,085
of the front floor attaches to the frame,

1009
00:44:21,705 --> 00:44:24,445
and it's usually towards
the pin box in the front.

1010
00:44:25,185 --> 00:44:27,885
And on the inside you
might see it where, um,

1011
00:44:28,315 --> 00:44:32,965
cabinetry becomes uneven or
you see gaps in the inner wall.

1012
00:44:33,265 --> 00:44:37,645
Um, it just seems loose, uh,
in, in the, where it attaches

1013
00:44:37,645 --> 00:44:40,765
to the frame on the sides to fix it.

1014
00:44:41,025 --> 00:44:44,405
Um, typically involves reinforcing, um,

1015
00:44:44,665 --> 00:44:46,125
or upgrading the chassis,

1016
00:44:46,565 --> 00:44:48,245
redistributing the weight more evenly.

1017
00:44:49,065 --> 00:44:53,205
Uh, taking preventive measures
such as avoiding overloading,

1018
00:44:53,205 --> 00:44:54,325
that's really important.

1019
00:44:54,625 --> 00:44:57,085
Uh, and then properly maintaining your RV

1020
00:44:57,905 --> 00:44:59,165
in really bad cases.

1021
00:44:59,165 --> 00:45:02,605
Professional repair, uh,
retrofitting may be necessary.

1022
00:45:03,185 --> 00:45:06,885
Uh, but as to this recent controversy, uh,

1023
00:45:06,895 --> 00:45:09,445
grand design has been the object of, uh,

1024
00:45:09,585 --> 00:45:10,685
uh, complaints about this.

1025
00:45:10,945 --> 00:45:13,405
And they conceded last
month that, um, according

1026
00:45:13,405 --> 00:45:16,405
to 'em a small number of its, uh,

1027
00:45:16,455 --> 00:45:18,525
super big solitude and momentum.

1028
00:45:18,575 --> 00:45:21,325
Fifth wheels had excessive frame flex.

1029
00:45:21,905 --> 00:45:24,445
Uh, and they've promised to
work with any customers to,

1030
00:45:24,445 --> 00:45:25,525
to fix this issue.

1031
00:45:26,545 --> 00:45:29,565
Uh, the largest frame manufacturer in the

1032
00:45:29,565 --> 00:45:30,725
country is Lippert.

1033
00:45:30,825 --> 00:45:32,965
Uh, they're a huge RV parts supplier

1034
00:45:33,025 --> 00:45:35,605
and they produce most of the fifth wheel

1035
00:45:35,625 --> 00:45:36,965
and toy hauler frames.

1036
00:45:37,465 --> 00:45:39,445
Uh, and they have said
pretty much the same thing.

1037
00:45:40,465 --> 00:45:44,085
So my take is if you
think you have an issue,

1038
00:45:44,085 --> 00:45:45,725
contact the manufacturer.

1039
00:45:46,625 --> 00:45:49,605
And if you're not noticing
any of the symptoms

1040
00:45:49,605 --> 00:45:52,725
that we described, um,
don't worry about it.

1041
00:45:53,415 --> 00:45:57,365
Again, this has mostly
affected only a small segment

1042
00:45:57,665 --> 00:46:02,365
of very large plus 17,000
pounds and up RVs out there.

1043
00:46:03,185 --> 00:46:06,085
Uh, by all means,
regularly inspect your rv.

1044
00:46:06,085 --> 00:46:08,685
You should look it over
carefully after every trip and

1045
00:46:08,685 --> 00:46:09,965
before you start again.

1046
00:46:10,785 --> 00:46:14,685
But to answer the question
about being concerned, no need

1047
00:46:14,685 --> 00:46:17,165
to be concerned if you're
not seeing those problems.

1048
00:46:17,345 --> 00:46:20,165
And those problems are extremely rare.

1049
00:46:20,625 --> 00:46:22,005
We get a lot of questions on this

1050
00:46:22,025 --> 00:46:23,605
and I'm sure that there will be more.

1051
00:46:24,105 --> 00:46:26,045
Um, you may have a take on it.

1052
00:46:26,495 --> 00:46:27,965
There was a lot of controversy

1053
00:46:28,035 --> 00:46:31,245
because when this was first published, uh,

1054
00:46:32,395 --> 00:46:33,685
some manufacturers

1055
00:46:33,785 --> 00:46:35,565
and industry people were, were,

1056
00:46:35,665 --> 00:46:38,645
it sounded like they were
blaming the RV owners

1057
00:46:38,705 --> 00:46:41,405
who were reporting these things
as if it was their fault.

1058
00:46:42,185 --> 00:46:44,845
And as I said, overloading
is a typical problem.

1059
00:46:45,065 --> 00:46:46,925
But, uh, so there was a lot

1060
00:46:46,925 --> 00:46:48,365
of bitterness and a lot of anger.

1061
00:46:48,585 --> 00:46:49,965
And it sort of settled down.

1062
00:46:50,085 --> 00:46:52,885
Lipper's been out front
now, uh, explaining

1063
00:46:52,885 --> 00:46:54,125
how the problem occurs

1064
00:46:54,745 --> 00:46:56,725
and helping to show how rare it really is.

1065
00:46:56,865 --> 00:46:58,805
But we'll keep our eye on it.

1066
00:46:58,805 --> 00:47:01,085
We'll let you know if you
have questions about it.

1067
00:47:01,265 --> 00:47:04,285
Um, any questions about
the RV lifestyle in fact,

1068
00:47:04,585 --> 00:47:06,285
or comments about
anything you heard today?

1069
00:47:06,595 --> 00:47:09,165
Send us an email. We'd love
to hear your take on it all.

1070
00:47:09,195 --> 00:47:12,885
Mike and jen@rvlifestyle.com.
That's our personal email.

1071
00:47:13,355 --> 00:47:17,645
Alright, we got the, uh,
the eclipse under our belts.

1072
00:47:17,825 --> 00:47:21,245
And now, uh, next big thing on
the horizon is Memorial Day.

1073
00:47:21,825 --> 00:47:23,685
We hope you guys have
some great camping plans

1074
00:47:23,785 --> 00:47:25,085
and we'll be back next week.

1075
00:47:25,545 --> 00:47:28,285
And next week we're gonna
talk about a coming invasion.

1076
00:47:28,585 --> 00:47:32,325
If you outside in certain parts
of the country, the invasion

1077
00:47:33,065 --> 00:47:35,925
of the cicadas, it'll be a fun interview

1078
00:47:36,115 --> 00:47:38,285
that you'll hear next
week when we come back.

1079
00:47:38,285 --> 00:47:39,805
Thanks for watching. Happy

1080
00:47:39,905 --> 00:47:40,325
- Trails.